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Apps to Put Words in Santa’s Mouth

By Roy Furchgott December 21, 2011 1:13 pmDecember 21, 2011 1:13 pm

You might expect folks who make iPhone Santa apps to be filled with the holiday spirit, but after testing some of their wares, I’ve concluded they might be some of the Scroogiest people around. I tried some apps similar to one I liked last year, “Talking Santa,” which let me record a message and make it appear to come from an animated Santa. I thought it would be a fun way for parents to send a message from Santa to their children.

Most apps I tried this year are fun enough, but served as a platform for selling add-ons. And these are apps you largely have paid to own. It’s the kind of greed I’d expect from old Ebenezer himself. Here are my findings:

This excellent animation features a hybrid disco-hip-hop Santa, which sets your words to Christmas music using auto-tune-type software. In fact, it was better to just speak the lyrics and let the app make it musical. You can then save your resulting singing animation and share it by e-mail, message or Facebook.

There are other little surprises, like if you touch Santa’s head he reacts as if being punched in the face, which is exactly what I wanted to do each time he tried to sell me upgrades.

But I have to give Singing Santa a bye. Even though the button to see “Santa’s List” offers to sell “One Favorite Carols Style Pack” for $3, eight more dance moves for Santa for $2 and additional still frame electronic postcards for $1, that is only on the free version. On the $5 iPad version, it’s all included.

An adorably rotund cartoon child dresses as Santa. The app’s instructions say to talk to him and he will repeat your words (in a helium-squeaky child’s voice). But there is no sure way to know when to talk, and even when I got it right I couldn’t see any way to save my message.

There is a button to send mail, but when the message arrived, there was a “broken image” symbol where I supposed a picture should be, as well as a dead link.

But there are other surprises to be found by touching his tummy, pulling his beard, shaking the phone and others. You can touch buttons to give him a mug he drinks from, a stack of boxes or Santa’s sack. You can make him say “ho, ho, ho.” There is also a jack-o-lantern in the row of buttons, which leads to an offer to sell you other apps.

When I went to use last year’s Talking Santa app it enticed me to buy the new Santa and Ginger app, which puts a talking cat on Santa’s lap.

As with the original, you can make a video, save it or share it by e-mail, Facebook or YouTube.

Set it to video, say what you want, and Santa will then repeat it in a deep voice, so you can e-mail the message of your choice to your children. There are loads of hidden features. Touch Santa’s knee and Ginger, that little scamp, kicks Santa.

It’s galling to buy an app that promotes a holiday movie, but at least this one does what it says. Choose Santa or Arthur, speak, and you words are repeated in a deep voice by Santa or a squeeky voice by Arthur. You can make a recording and play, save or e-mail it. If you e-mail, it arrives with the message “Check this out… I just made this movie using a cool iPhone app called “iTalk Santa, Arthur Christmas!” It also has a live link so you can buy the app by e-mail.

It seemed simple enough. Your child writes a letter to Santa, on a choice of whimsical holiday-themed screens, e-mails it to Santa, then mom and dad can go online and send a response that appears to come from Santa.

That response can come as a physical letter sent in the mail … for only $20 if you use the fancy gold stationary, $10 for the less-ornate silver package or $3 for a postcard. Or you can send a free e-mail.

I chose the free e-mail. Santa’s message never arrived.

Bah. Humbug.

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